Bruin Defense: Looking For Flexibility, Creativity & Aggressive Mindset From Chuck Bullough
by Nestor on Aug 19, 2010 6:28 AM PDT
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As I was waiting in the airport yesterday (on my way to the town where Rick Neuheisel got started as a head coach) I decided to pick up a copy of SI's "College Football Preview. " Ohio State Buckeyes are on the cover in the edition I picked up, as the other three versions feature Boise State, Texas and Alabama. All of these teams are the profiled in the feature story entitled, "Offense Takes A Hit," in which Austin Murphy discusses how defenses around the country have been stepping up in recent months to upstage the offensive revolution we have been experiencing through "various species of spread offenses that took root across the republic" in recent years.
The third graf in the article discussing TCU's Gary Patterson's 4-2-5 system (which doesn't sound all that different from Rocky Long's dynamic 1997-98 defense at UCLA) got me thinking. It read:
[M]ost 4-3 teams send a linebacker to the sideline on obvious passing downs, replacing him with a fifth defensive back - the nickel. TCU's base defense is a nickel package. The extra DB (the 5 in the 4-2-5) is a kind of safety-linebacker hybrid, a talented tweener who is equally at ease covering a receiver or bringing the lumber in run support. Five defensive backs "allow you to get more speed on the field," says Patterson, "but they've got to be physical, got to be good tacklers."
So that immediately got me thinking of none other than Dietrich Riley (6-0/201) and what Chuck Bullough can do with his freakish size (for a safety) and athletic talent in the coming years.
In recent days we already have had discussion of putting in Riley in first team and packaging him with Rahim Moore in the defensive backfield. It is not that Tony Dye (5-11/205) has been having a so so camp. Dye by all accounts is performing well and has been steady. It's just that Riley to date has been a total menace, leveling ferocious hits, and picking off our QBs (in Kevin Prince's absence). He has clearly served notice to the point it sounds like our WRs are taking special note of him.
With that kind of talent at their disposal the coaches might be thinking of how to get him on the field as much as possible. So when reading about TCU's defense, the thought came to my mind about adopting the 4-2-5 template for specific opponents this season such as Oregon and Arizona, who use spread as their base formations in their offense. I can see a lineup in which Riley would be the prototypical "tweener" who can cover fast receivers but also provide that effective run support. He would certainly bring more speed on the field compared to any of our LBs (who are not all that shabby BTW at least on paper). Actually Glenn Love is another athlete who could also potentially fill that role.
So what about that? Last year, one of the biggest adjustments Chuck Bullough made was to take advantage of Akeem Ayers' playmaking potential by using him in as a hybrid LB/DE in what amounted to a 3-4 formation. Bullough also toyed around with Brian Price's speed by moving him around from DT and lining him up at DE as well. Those formations threw opposing teams and paid dividends towards the end of the season (see game against ASU) when UCLA ended on a solid note.
Speaking of Ayers, there was another interesting graf in the article concerning Ohio State's 4-3 defense that seemed salient to UCLA defense:
The Buckeyes also have the Star and the Leo, which are handles for a pair of-here's that word again-hybrid positions. The Star is a safety-linebacker mix. The Leo is a heartier blend; part linebacker, part defensive lineman. "He's in our [lineman] meetings," says tackle Dexter Larimore, "but half the plays he's dropping into coverage."
That immediately made me think of Riley/Love in the "Star" role while guys like Akeem, Owamagbe Odighizuwa as "Leos." All of these guys have talent, size and speed that should allow Bullough to be flexible and aggressive. Interestingly Ohio State put in those packages within a 4-3 defense that enabled them to frustrated Oregon's spread offense at the Rose Bowl.
I hope with the talent upgrade that has taken place in last 2-3 years, Bullough is thinking out of the box a bit to use all the speed and athleticism now available to him on defense. Our defense was solid last year. However, at the beginning of the season it was somewhat predictable. I still remember the Stanford game pretty well when we played base defense for the most part, and allowed Stanford to grind and dominate (at least in first half) without facing any kind of pressure.
Well I hope Bullough this year shows little more aggression and innovative mindset early on. What was interesting from that SI article was how Boise State had essentially adopted a template of TCU's base defense in a 4-1-6 formation, which they then used successfully against the Horned Frogs during their Bowl matchups.
Of course, I am not suggesting that Bullough deploy some radical changes in philosophy and totally give up what has resulted in above average defense in recent years (under schemes established by Dewayne Walker). What I am suggesting - using Riley as a linchpin for this post - for Bullough to think about tweaks and adjustments, that will make UCLA defense unpredictable and more aggressive this coming year. We finally have some athletes in our program. Hope Bullough is not afraid of having some fun and in the process making our team better and more exciting in the coming season.
GO BRUINS.
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Great piece
Way to bring it, N. This is an extremely well thought out and insightful piece. We have the horses in the stable thanks to some great recruiting, now we just need to find a way to get them on the track as early as possible. Your discussions seems like a reasonable way to do that. If not this year because some of these guys are Frosh, but certainly in a year or two.
I read the fishwrap (LAT) first this AM and expected to read here about Prince’s health (or lack thereof) and the media’s attempt to spin a doomsday scenario. What I got was a very interesting take on how to truly make the Bruins better.
I friggin love this blog.
Next step...
don’t bother with the LAT. I used to read it online for UCLA coverage, even long after leaving LA. Once I discovered BN, I realized there’s no point in paying any attention to the fishwrap anymore.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Agree 100%
On offense, the Bruins have introduced the wrinkle of the “revolver” package to utilize the talent they have and give the defenses something else to game plan for and think about.
The same can be said for adding the wrinkles you mention on defense. It will maximize the talent. It will make offenses think about different looks. It will confuse opposing QBs.
That is the beauty of football. Unlike any other sport, the strategies have evolved over time and continue to evolve.
Great post, Nestor.
tweener positions sound mentally challenging
Any of these positions that involve changing responsibilities significantly depending on the play require a lot of awareness, which may be tough for a freshman getting his feet wet for the first time.
IIRC, CRN made some comments about Riley that were essentially “he’s got all the tools, he needs to learn how to play in the system”, which might be tougher in a tweener position. It might be an absolutely ideal use of his physical skills, and something that might be a perfect fit for him moving forward, but maybe something you would want to work in very slowly (and, as you suggest, perhaps with specific opponents in mind), and, as you note, with strong consideration for Love in that role given his extra experience. But in general, I love the idea of getting some extra playmakers on the field on the defensive side, and am all for creative ideas to make that happen.
The first year of Walker’s schemes, it wasn’t always obvious that our active defense was more effective than the old bend-but-don’t -break stuff (sometimes forcing 3-and-outs, sometimes giving up huge plays to open or single-covered receivers), but it was a hell of a lot more fun to watch as a fan with blitzes coming from different angles and watching an opposing QB constantly having to adapt. You knew that if we could work our way to being able to string together a number of consistent defensive series playing that style, we could win a game just with our defense – and so 13-9 came to pass.
Good point about the experience needed for tweener's
Not only do they have to learn 2 positions, they have to decide when to play which.
by KnudsenRockne on Aug 20, 2010 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Use that talent
They don’t know what to do with Jayson Allmond, I can totally see him playing that Leo position.
Owa sure doesn't look like a true freshman...dude is yoked!
by bornagainbruin on Aug 19, 2010 12:19 PM PDT reply actions
Another tweener could be Barr
As most people have said he could play a number of different positons. if things were to not work out at the F-back he could be a possible three way tweener at safety, olb, and de. that would be very difficult for most OC’s to scheme around.
Kudos
on your observation and analysis. It’s kinda weird to think that UCLA is better known for defense now. Who would have thunk it….The amount of talent that we are stockpiling on defense is quite insane. Not only are we getting guys with size but they can also RUN.
Great analysis N.
How do we get word to the coaching staff? I swear we need a direct line to the Morgan Center and to Murphy Hall for all the great ideas that get hatched here at BN.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Sounds a little different than Long's 3-3-5
That hybrid position definitely sounds comparable to the rover position that Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 defense used. But, IIRC the rationale behind the 3-3-5 was in how it made the down linemen and linebackers more interchangeable, putting less of a premium on having a dominant tackle anchoring the DL. It created havoc because offenses never knew where the pass rush would come from, and who would rush and who would drop back into coverage. The rover would basically line up all over the field from play to play.
But, also recall that in Rocky Long’s first year implementing the 3-3-5, the UCLA defense got torched just as often as it made big plays. It wasn’t until the 97 season that the defense began to make a difference. Even so, that defense was still susceptible to giving up big plays and Long was purportedly planning to go towards a more conventional defense once they started getting bigger DT recruits into the program.
Great points Woo
Should have remembered that Long’s defense was 3-3-5. However, the underlying point remains the same about devising creative defensive schemes using the talent available on our roster.
Indeed
Part of the reason why Toledo and Long brought in the 3-3-5 defense was because that 96 roster did not have a lot of size along the DL, yet had a lot of guys who could play the tweener DE/LB positions. That made the six guys up front virtually interchangeable, and offenses never knew when the defense was going to load the rover and one of the safeties into the box.
Wasswa Serwanga played that rover position and he was a great fit. Not as fast as some corners and not as big as some safeties, but he was a dependable tackler, covered a lot of ground, and was just a smart player. If Riley can evolve along those lines (we already know he can hit, but can he make the routine tackles and do the little things?), then this could be a great way of getting him in the game.
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